June 23, 2025 • 12 mins
Drowning in Decisions? You’re Leading the Wrong Way
Podcast Description
If your team can’t move without your input, you’re not leading—you’re bottlenecking.
In this episode of Things Leaders Do, Colby Morris shares the leadership shift that changed everything when he was managing a 350-person team. If you're overwhelmed by decision fatigue or constantly solving problems your team could handle, this episode will show you how to stop being the answer—and start building a team that knows how to think without you.
You’ll learn:
- Why answering every question is slowing you—and your team—down
- How to coach your people into confident, independent decision-makers
- A practical question that ends decision paralysis
- How to lead with people in mind—ethically, strategically, and with trust
- Why developing leaders is one of your most important jobs
Leadership Challenge:
Stop giving every answer. Start asking better questions.
Set the expectation: if they bring a problem, they bring two solutions.
If this episode helped you lead better:
Leave a quick review and share it with another leader. That’s how we grow this movement and build stronger teams, together.
Need a speaker for your next leadership event, team training, or offsite?
Colby works with organizations across the country to develop people-first leaders who know how to move fast without burning out.
To connect, visit: NxtStepAdvisors.com
or connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/colby-morris/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello leaders and welcome back to the TLD podcast.
I'm Colby Morris and my goalhere is to help you become a
better leader faster.
No fluff, no theory dumps, justreal, actionable tools you can
use right now.
Today's episode is going to hithome if you're feeling buried
in decisions.
(00:21):
If you're feeling buried indecisions constantly asked for
input or like your team justcan't move unless you say go.
We're talking about how to stopbeing the bottleneck and start
being a team of empowered,thoughtful problem solvers.
But before we dive in, if thispodcast has helped you lead
(00:44):
better, would you do me a favor?
Would you leave a quick reviewwherever you're listening and
send this episode to anotherleader who could use it?
That's how we start making realchange by growing together.
Hey, if you're listening tothis while juggling 17 different
decisions that all somehowlanded on your desk today, I get
(01:08):
it.
And we need to talk, becausehere's what I've learned the
best leaders aren't the onesmaking the most decisions.
They're actually the onesmaking the fewest.
And if that sounds backwards toyou, stick with me.
I want to share a story thatcompletely changed how I think
about leadership, and it mightdo the same for you.
(01:31):
Say, a few years back I wasdrowning, leading 350 people
with 25 direct reports, andsomehow everything required my
input.
Colby, what should we do aboutthis client issue?
Colby, how do you want us tohandle this budget question?
(01:51):
Colby, can you decide on thishiring decision?
Does that sound familiar?
I thought this was leadership.
I thought being needed meant Iwas doing my job well.
But here's the truth.
I didn't want to admit.
I had accidentally trained myteam to be helpless.
(02:14):
Every time they brought me aproblem, I solved it.
Every time they faceduncertainty, I gave them the
answer.
I thought I was being reallyhelpful, but really I was
creating a bottleneck with myname on it.
And the crazy part, my team wasfull of smart, capable people
(02:35):
who could absolutely handlethese decisions.
I just wasn't letting them, Iwasn't leading them that way.
So I tried something different.
I told my team one day look,I'm still here to help you, but
(02:56):
from now on, when you bring me aquestion, I'm going to ask you
one back.
What do you think we should do?
The first few weeks were.
The first few weeks wereinteresting.
A lot of uncomfortable silence,some pushback.
But, colby, that's why we haveyou to make these calls.
But then something shifted.
(03:23):
They started coming to me less.
When they did come, theybrought options, not just
problems.
They say things like here's thesituation and here are three
ways I see us handling it, andhere's kind of what I'm leaning
toward.
That's when I realizedsomething powerful I wasn't just
getting my time back.
I was watching my team growinto the leaders they were meant
to be.
(03:44):
Now let me be clear aboutsomething this isn't about
abdication.
It's not about throwing yourhands up and saying figure it
out yourself.
That's not leadership.
That's abandonment.
This is about development.
It's about recognizing thatevery time you make a decision
(04:04):
your team could handle, you robthem of a chance to grow and you
rob yourself of the chance tofocus on the things only you can
do.
Think about it.
What are the decisions thatactually require your unique
perspective, your authority oryour experience?
Those are the ones worth yourmental energy.
(04:26):
The rest, that's where youdevelop your people.
So here's how this lookspractically when someone brings
you a problem, resist the urgeto immediately solve it.
Instead, get curious, saythings like what options do you
(04:46):
see?
What would you do if I wasn'there?
Or what's your gut telling you?
Or have we done this?
Or something similar to this inthe past.
Sometimes they'll have theperfect solution already.
They just needed, likepermission, to trust themselves.
(05:06):
Other times, you'll help themthink through it together, but
notice the difference You'rethinking with them, not for them
.
And yes, sometimes they'll makemistakes.
That's part of the deal.
But here's what I've learnedthe cost of those mistakes is
(05:27):
almost always less than the costof keeping smart people
dependent on you.
Think about it what's moreexpensive Occasionally having to
course correct a decision yourteam member made, or being the
permanent bottleneck that slowsdown everything your
organization is trying toaccomplish?
(05:48):
You know the answer Now.
That said, you're still goingto have decisions that land on
your desk the big ones, thecomplex ones, the ones that
really do need your experienceand your authority.
When those moments come, here'sthe framework that saved me
countless hours ofsecond-guessing myself.
(06:11):
I always ask is any newinformation coming that would
change this decision?
If the answer is no, I decideright then.
If the answer is yes, then Iset a deadline for when that
information needs to arrive.
Because here's what I learnedthe hard way Time doesn't make
(06:31):
decisions easier unless itbrings new data.
Otherwise, you're justprocrastinating with a fancy
name.
This connects us to somethingPatrick Lencioni writes about in
his book the Advantage.
He talks about how leaders getparalyzed, waiting for
perfection or perfectinformation.
(06:53):
That never comes.
But successful organizationsdon't wait for certainty.
They act on.
Get this clarity.
Here's what that meanspractically.
You don't need to know everypossible outcome.
You need to understand thesituation well enough to make a
(07:13):
good decision with theinformation you have.
Then and this is key you needthe humility to adjust when you
learn more.
Lincione puts it this way it'sbetter to be roughly right and
moving forward than preciselywrong and standing still.
Perfect clarity is a luxurymost leaders can't afford and
(07:39):
they won't ever get, butsufficient clarity that's
available to all of us if we'rewilling to act on it.
Now here's what I never wantyou to forget in all of this
Every decision you make createsa story in someone else's life,
(08:01):
and they're trusting you to makea good one.
I learned this lesson when I hadto restructure part of my team
a few years ago.
On paper, it made perfect senseMore efficient reporting
structure, cleareraccountability, better resource
allocation.
All the business metricspointed to, yes, but I almost
(08:23):
missed something crucial.
This decision was going tochange how one of my best
managers.
Let's call her Sarah.
It would change how she spenther days.
It would shift herrelationships, her sense of
influence, her daily experienceof work.
The efficient decision wouldhave left her feeling demoted,
(08:46):
confused, even though thatwasn't the intent at all.
So I had to pivot a bit.
I slowed down.
I had a conversation with her.
First, I wanted to explain thewhy behind the change and how it
fit into our bigger picture and, most importantly, how I saw
her role actually expanding inways that mattered to her career
(09:09):
growth.
Same decision, completelydifferent story.
This is what I mean by leadingwith people in mind.
It's not about avoiding harddecisions or always choosing the
path that makes everyone happy.
It's about recognizing thatbehind every org chart line,
(09:30):
every budget cut, everystrategic pivot, there are real
humans trying to do good workand provide for their families.
So before you decide,especially on the big stuff, I
want you to pause and ask howwill this impact our people, not
(09:50):
just their productivity, buttheir sense of purpose, their
trust and leadership, theirbelief that they matter here.
Sometimes the most efficientdecision isn't the most human
one.
For those of you in the backI'm going to say that again.
For those of you in the back.
I'm going to say that again.
Sometimes the most efficientdecision isn't the most human
(10:13):
one, and when you're faced withthat choice, remember this you
can always recover from aslightly slower process.
It's much harder to recoverfrom broken trust.
So here's what I want you totry this week.
First, have a conversation withyour team.
(10:33):
Don't just bring this change onthem.
That's not fair to anyone.
Sit them down and say somethinglike I want to help you grow as
leaders and decision makers.
Starting this week, when youbring me a challenge, I'm going
to ask what you think we shoulddo.
This isn't me being difficult.
It's me believing in yourability to solve problems.
(10:55):
Look, set the expectations upfront.
Let them know this is aboutdevelopment, not abandonment.
Then, when someone brings you aproblem, resist the urge to
immediately solve it, and you'llhave that urge.
Ask them what they think.
Push them gently to bring youoptions, not just issues.
(11:17):
And when you do need to make acall yourself, make it with
clarity, not certainty.
Make it with your people inmind, because, at the end of the
day, your job isn't to have allthe answers.
Your job is to build a teamthat knows how to find them.
Hey, if you're working on thatand need help, I want you to
(11:41):
know I'm here.
Whether it's coaching, trainingyour team or speaking at your
next leadership event, I'd loveto help you build stronger, more
empowered leaders.
Just check the link in the shownotes.
And if you're feelingoverwhelmed by decisions right
now, the challenge is simpleStop answering every question,
(12:01):
start asking better ones.
Build a team that doesn't relyon you for every answer, but
knows how to find them withoutyou.
And you know why Because thoseare the things that leaders do.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do.
If you're looking for more tipson how to be a better leader,
be sure to subscribe to thepodcast and listen to next
week's episode.
Until next time, keep workingon being a better leader by
doing the things that leaders do.
Hello leaders and welcome back to the TLD podcast.
I'm Colby Morris and my goalhere is to help you become a
better leader faster.
No fluff, no theory dumps, justreal, actionable tools you can
use right now.
Today's episode is going to hithome if you're feeling buried
in decisions.
(00:21):
If you're feeling buried indecisions constantly asked for
input or like your team justcan't move unless you say go.
We're talking about how to stopbeing the bottleneck and start
being a team of empowered,thoughtful problem solvers.
But before we dive in, if thispodcast has helped you lead
(00:44):
better, would you do me a favor?
Would you leave a quick reviewwherever you're listening and
send this episode to anotherleader who could use it?
That's how we start making realchange by growing together.
Hey, if you're listening tothis while juggling 17 different
decisions that all somehowlanded on your desk today, I get
(01:08):
it.
And we need to talk, becausehere's what I've learned the
best leaders aren't the onesmaking the most decisions.
They're actually the onesmaking the fewest.
And if that sounds backwards toyou, stick with me.
I want to share a story thatcompletely changed how I think
about leadership, and it mightdo the same for you.
(01:31):
Say, a few years back I wasdrowning, leading 350 people
with 25 direct reports, andsomehow everything required my
input.
Colby, what should we do aboutthis client issue?
Colby, how do you want us tohandle this budget question?
(01:51):
Colby, can you decide on thishiring decision?
Does that sound familiar?
I thought this was leadership.
I thought being needed meant Iwas doing my job well.
But here's the truth.
I didn't want to admit.
I had accidentally trained myteam to be helpless.
(02:14):
Every time they brought me aproblem, I solved it.
Every time they faceduncertainty, I gave them the
answer.
I thought I was being reallyhelpful, but really I was
creating a bottleneck with myname on it.
And the crazy part, my team wasfull of smart, capable people
(02:35):
who could absolutely handlethese decisions.
I just wasn't letting them, Iwasn't leading them that way.
So I tried something different.
I told my team one day look,I'm still here to help you, but
(02:56):
from now on, when you bring me aquestion, I'm going to ask you
one back.
What do you think we should do?
The first few weeks were.
The first few weeks wereinteresting.
A lot of uncomfortable silence,some pushback.
But, colby, that's why we haveyou to make these calls.
But then something shifted.
(03:23):
They started coming to me less.
When they did come, theybrought options, not just
problems.
They say things like here's thesituation and here are three
ways I see us handling it, andhere's kind of what I'm leaning
toward.
That's when I realizedsomething powerful I wasn't just
getting my time back.
I was watching my team growinto the leaders they were meant
to be.
(03:44):
Now let me be clear aboutsomething this isn't about
abdication.
It's not about throwing yourhands up and saying figure it
out yourself.
That's not leadership.
That's abandonment.
This is about development.
It's about recognizing thatevery time you make a decision
(04:04):
your team could handle, you robthem of a chance to grow and you
rob yourself of the chance tofocus on the things only you can
do.
Think about it.
What are the decisions thatactually require your unique
perspective, your authority oryour experience?
Those are the ones worth yourmental energy.
(04:26):
The rest, that's where youdevelop your people.
So here's how this lookspractically when someone brings
you a problem, resist the urgeto immediately solve it.
Instead, get curious, saythings like what options do you
(04:46):
see?
What would you do if I wasn'there?
Or what's your gut telling you?
Or have we done this?
Or something similar to this inthe past.
Sometimes they'll have theperfect solution already.
They just needed, likepermission, to trust themselves.
(05:06):
Other times, you'll help themthink through it together, but
notice the difference You'rethinking with them, not for them
.
And yes, sometimes they'll makemistakes.
That's part of the deal.
But here's what I've learnedthe cost of those mistakes is
(05:27):
almost always less than the costof keeping smart people
dependent on you.
Think about it what's moreexpensive Occasionally having to
course correct a decision yourteam member made, or being the
permanent bottleneck that slowsdown everything your
organization is trying toaccomplish?
(05:48):
You know the answer Now.
That said, you're still goingto have decisions that land on
your desk the big ones, thecomplex ones, the ones that
really do need your experienceand your authority.
When those moments come, here'sthe framework that saved me
countless hours ofsecond-guessing myself.
(06:11):
I always ask is any newinformation coming that would
change this decision?
If the answer is no, I decideright then.
If the answer is yes, then Iset a deadline for when that
information needs to arrive.
Because here's what I learnedthe hard way Time doesn't make
(06:31):
decisions easier unless itbrings new data.
Otherwise, you're justprocrastinating with a fancy
name.
This connects us to somethingPatrick Lencioni writes about in
his book the Advantage.
He talks about how leaders getparalyzed, waiting for
perfection or perfectinformation.
(06:53):
That never comes.
But successful organizationsdon't wait for certainty.
They act on.
Get this clarity.
Here's what that meanspractically.
You don't need to know everypossible outcome.
You need to understand thesituation well enough to make a
(07:13):
good decision with theinformation you have.
Then and this is key you needthe humility to adjust when you
learn more.
Lincione puts it this way it'sbetter to be roughly right and
moving forward than preciselywrong and standing still.
Perfect clarity is a luxurymost leaders can't afford and
(07:39):
they won't ever get, butsufficient clarity that's
available to all of us if we'rewilling to act on it.
Now here's what I never wantyou to forget in all of this
Every decision you make createsa story in someone else's life,
(08:01):
and they're trusting you to makea good one.
I learned this lesson when I hadto restructure part of my team
a few years ago.
On paper, it made perfect senseMore efficient reporting
structure, cleareraccountability, better resource
allocation.
All the business metricspointed to, yes, but I almost
(08:23):
missed something crucial.
This decision was going tochange how one of my best
managers.
Let's call her Sarah.
It would change how she spenther days.
It would shift herrelationships, her sense of
influence, her daily experienceof work.
The efficient decision wouldhave left her feeling demoted,
(08:46):
confused, even though thatwasn't the intent at all.
So I had to pivot a bit.
I slowed down.
I had a conversation with her.
First, I wanted to explain thewhy behind the change and how it
fit into our bigger picture and, most importantly, how I saw
her role actually expanding inways that mattered to her career
(09:09):
growth.
Same decision, completelydifferent story.
This is what I mean by leadingwith people in mind.
It's not about avoiding harddecisions or always choosing the
path that makes everyone happy.
It's about recognizing thatbehind every org chart line,
(09:30):
every budget cut, everystrategic pivot, there are real
humans trying to do good workand provide for their families.
So before you decide,especially on the big stuff, I
want you to pause and ask howwill this impact our people, not
(09:50):
just their productivity, buttheir sense of purpose, their
trust and leadership, theirbelief that they matter here.
Sometimes the most efficientdecision isn't the most human
one.
For those of you in the backI'm going to say that again.
For those of you in the back.
I'm going to say that again.
Sometimes the most efficientdecision isn't the most human
(10:13):
one, and when you're faced withthat choice, remember this you
can always recover from aslightly slower process.
It's much harder to recoverfrom broken trust.
So here's what I want you totry this week.
First, have a conversation withyour team.
(10:33):
Don't just bring this change onthem.
That's not fair to anyone.
Sit them down and say somethinglike I want to help you grow as
leaders and decision makers.
Starting this week, when youbring me a challenge, I'm going
to ask what you think we shoulddo.
This isn't me being difficult.
It's me believing in yourability to solve problems.
(10:55):
Look, set the expectations upfront.
Let them know this is aboutdevelopment, not abandonment.
Then, when someone brings you aproblem, resist the urge to
immediately solve it, and you'llhave that urge.
Ask them what they think.
Push them gently to bring youoptions, not just issues.
(11:17):
And when you do need to make acall yourself, make it with
clarity, not certainty.
Make it with your people inmind, because, at the end of the
day, your job isn't to have allthe answers.
Your job is to build a teamthat knows how to find them.
Hey, if you're working on thatand need help, I want you to
(11:41):
know I'm here.
Whether it's coaching, trainingyour team or speaking at your
next leadership event, I'd loveto help you build stronger, more
empowered leaders.
Just check the link in the shownotes.
And if you're feelingoverwhelmed by decisions right
now, the challenge is simpleStop answering every question,
(12:01):
start asking better ones.
Build a team that doesn't relyon you for every answer, but
knows how to find them withoutyou.
And you know why Because thoseare the things that leaders do.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do.
If you're looking for more tipson how to be a better leader,
be sure to subscribe to thepodcast and listen to next
week's episode.
Until next time, keep workingon being a better leader by
doing the things that leaders do.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd is a thought-provoking, opinionated, and topic-driven journey through the top sports stories of the day.